The Final Diagnosis
by Arthur Hailey
I just finished the book, about 30 seconds ago, and my fingers are still shaking with emotion as I type. ’The Final Diagnosis’ is the first novel written by Arthur Hailey that I read, and it is undoubtedly one of the best novels I have read.
The story is based entirely in and around the Three Counties hospital. A hospital that is not of a very high standard, the equipment backdated and the workers outdated and incompetent and the whole place in dire need of some changes. The Administrator hires some people, new recruits to make them and well...
I am not going to give a synopsis, since it’s not necessary, and it won’t do any good. No characters list either, since there are way too many characters to properly list and explain. I guess I’ll just explain how I feel. The novel probes into the life of Doctors at a hospital, their thoughts, feelings, emotions, and their lives. We think of doctors as all knowing people, who are there to heal us when we are sick, and that’s that. What we don’t realize is that they are just as frail as any of us and while taking care of others, they often don’t have time for themselves. This constant state of neglect has an amazing effect on their lives, and this story describes it brilliantly. The decisions a doctor makes are final, and often the patients life depends on it, handling such pressure, and still doing their job with a smile, Doctor’s truly face a lot of trouble.
The story has no fixed plot, no twists and turns, no sudden events, no villains and heroes; it’s just a description of the day to day life in a hospital. (Doesn’t sound interesting, does it?)
That’s what I thought, start reading and you’ll get lost in the wards and corridors of the Three Counties hospital. The portrayal of the characters is amazing, and the descriptions brilliant, so brilliant in fact that you’ll find yourself in the midst of the characters, walking around, giving orders to nurses and interns, visiting patients and comforting them and sometimes performing surgery on them. The novel is highly addictive, and once you start you won’t want to stop until all your patients are healed. (See the effect it’s had on me?)
I guess there not much else I can say, the story is brilliantly crafted and presented. Though there’s no plot, you won’t think for a second about putting the book down.
I guess I’ll end with some praises for this book from different sources,
"One of the most successful novelists of all time"
New York Times
"Highly recommended"
Daily Mail
"So real you can smell the disinfectant"
Books & Bookman
Well, judge for yourself, but you take my opinion, a must read, it’s a wonderful journey, and if I had to say one sentence:
"Put on your lab coat before you start reading, you never know when the next surgery is"